Publication
Mission impossible? Teresa Ribera’s mission letter and the future of EU merger review
Executive Vice President Vestager’s momentous tenure as Commissioner responsible for EU competition policy is nearing its end.
Global | Publication | July 2024
On 21 May 2024, the European Council (or Council) adopted the so-called ‘Hydrogen and decarbonised gas market package’ (the Gas Package). The package contains a recast of the 715/2009 gas regulation (Gas Regulation) and a recast of the 2009/73 gas directive (Gas Directive) aimed at reforming the existing EU regulatory framework to support the deployment of renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular hydrogen. As such, it represents a major development in the EU gas market.
The Gas Package, already approved by the European Parliament in April 2024, is now expected to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the coming weeks and will enter into force 20 days after publication. The Gas Regulation will become directly applicable in Member States (MSs) six months after entry into force, while MSs have two years from entry into force to adapt national legislation to implement the Gas Directive.
Within scope of this legislation are, in principle, two types of gas:
The Gas Package contains important regulations for a gas and hydrogen market, the feed-in and offtake of renewable and low-carbon gases and to safeguard consumers.
The Gas Package is primarily concerned with the integration of renewable and low-carbon gases into the existing gas network and the establishment of dedicated cross-border hydrogen infrastructure and competitive hydrogen market.
The Gas Package therefore sets out rules for the organization of the natural gas market and the upcoming hydrogen market. In doing so, it covers transport, supply and storage of natural gas and hydrogen by imposing specific and detailed obligations on transmission, storage and distribution operators on the basis of the principles of transparency and non-discrimination.
The Gas Package provides for two key sets of rules relating to market design, to guarantee a competitive and open hydrogen market: unbundling and third-party access (‘TPA’).
Hydrogen transmission and distribution network operators will play a central role in the development of the hydrogen market through a ten-year network development plan. The transmission and distribution plans will have to identify key infrastructure that needs to be built or upgraded and, more generally, identify any investment need to enhance the network. The national plan will then offer the basis for the preparation of the Union-wide network development plan for hydrogen that should be drafted by the upcoming European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH). With regards to the transmission network, the ten-year plan is to be considered relevant also in the context of Projects of Common Interest in view of the faster administrative procedure, as well as the funding which these projects benefit.
The Gas Regulation contains specific rules for the offtake of renewable and low-carbon gases. It explicitly recognizes a central role for the EC in supporting and encouraging the development of renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular hydrogen and biomethane.
The Gas Package includes several measures relevant for renewable gases and their integration into the natural gas network, including
The Gas Package, whilst focused on the decarbonisation of the gas market and the regulation of hydrogen networks, also includes important provisions with regards to safeguarding consumers.
While setting the fundamental principle that prices should be based on the market rules, the Gas Regulation allows MSs to intervene to “ensure reasonable prices for the final customers”. In particular, and subject to detailed conditions including a notification to the EC, MS intervention in the pricing of gas for vulnerable consumers or those suffering from energy poverty is permitted for, protecting those consumers from a surge in the price of natural gas. Among other consumer-related measures, it is also worth highlighting the provisions concerning supply contract clauses, including, for example, duration and conditions for renewal as well as billing information, and the right to switch to another supplier.
The Gas Package is the largest legislative development in the gas market in the EU since the so-called 2009 Third Gas Package, laying down the foundation for a new integrated hydrogen market and the ramp down of the natural gas system. However, there is further work to be done. Clear rules on the certification process for renewable and low-carbon gases are still needed, as is continued development of other EU legislation such as the EC Delegated Act defining renewable hydrogen (which drew criticism for its potential impact on imports in view of the additionality requirement).
Publication
Executive Vice President Vestager’s momentous tenure as Commissioner responsible for EU competition policy is nearing its end.
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On 10 October 2024, the UK government published its long awaited response (the Response) to its January 2024 consultation on “Designing a policy framework to enable investment in long duration electricity storage” (the Consultation).
Publication
Miranda Cole, Julien Haverals and Emma Clarke of our Brussels/ London offices are the authors of a chapter on procedural issues in merger control that has been published in the third edition of the Global Competition Review’s The Guide to Life Sciences. This covers a number of significant procedural developments that have affected merger review of life sciences transactions.
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